The US Zip Code for France

There are days when we have bizarre encounters. Today was such a day for me. Late in the afternoon I received a call from an excited clerk in the mail room at the place I work. She was upset because one of my employees was trying to send mail to a non-existent address. “How do you know the address is invalid?” I asked. “Because there’s no zip code or state on the envelope,” she replied. What ensued is one of the most memorable conversations I have ever had.
ME: What does the envelope say?
CLERK: The first line has a name. The second line has an address. The third line has a five digit number followed by Paris, France. I can’t mail that.
ME: Why not?
CLERK: There’s no zip code.
ME: Right. Why is that a problem?
CLERK: There’s no zip code. The post office will return it.
ME: No, I’m sure that won‘t happen. They would send the envelope to France.
CLERK: No, they can‘t deliver it. France is not a state.
ME: I know. It’s a country.
CLERK: Right. We can only send mail to states.
ME: Come again?
CLERK: We can only send mail to states with zip codes. France is not a state and there’s no zip code. I don’t know what to do with this letter.
ME: I see.
CLERK: Is it OK if I just write in California as the state?
ME: Why would you want to do that?
CLERK: So they’ll deliver the letter.
ME: Where do you think it would go if you did that?
CLERK: France, California.
ME: You’re sure about that?
CLERK: Maybe. But then there’s still the problem of no zip code.
ME: But there are numbers on the envelope?
CLERK: But that’s not a zip code. You don’t put the zip code first and try to pass France off as a state.
ME: I’m fairly certain the post office will send it to the right place anyway if you just put the postage on and drop it in the mail. We’ve done it before.
CLERK: To France, California?
ME: No. Paris, France. France is in Europe.
CLERK: We can’t send no letters to Europe without a state or a zip code.
ME: But they don’t have states or zip codes. They’re different countries.
CLERK: You’re trying to tell me different countries don’t have states or zip codes!
ME: I’m fairly certain. I’ve traveled to a few countries in my life and don’t remember any of them using United States zip codes in their addresses.
CLERK: Now I’ve heard everything. That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard!
ME: Would your manager happen to be available?
CLERK: I am the manager. But I don’t know for how long. You try doing your job when people keep sending you stuff with false addresses. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out. You tell me, how is my staff supposed to get it’s job done if we keep getting these crazy ass addresses sent down here from upstairs?
ME: You have a point there. I think you’ve helped me completely understand the situation now.
CLERK: Good. Because we can’t keep having your people sending us letters to France, California without zip codes.
ME: That is a problem.
CLERK: You got that right.
ME: How about if I drop by on my way out and pick up that letter from you. I’ll talk about this with my staff tomorrow and make sure they know to stop sending you letters to addressed to France. Would that help?
CLERK: Yes, it would. That would help. It’s good talking to someone who understands what I’m saying.
ME: You have no idea.

I have been laughing ever since.

Also, technically France IS a state, since by definition a state is a politically organized population with a sovereign government, usually within a given territory. (I know what was meant by "state" in the conversation, but you know, just felt compelled to make that point, ahha.)

That would have made the conversation even funnier!!!

CLERK: You mean, France IS a state?
ME: Yep. With it's own sovereign head, currency, postal system, and laws about wine.
CLERK: So you're telling me that France is part of the US?
ME: No, not part of the US, but it is a state.
CLERK: (probably something dumb like) Sort of like Canada, then?
ME: Exactly, except across the ocean, like Hawaii. You know, so that America balances.

is just down i5 south a bit.

She's a manager?

Oh dear God, help us!!!

:wow:

Surprisingly the post office had no qualms accepting it.

Yes, lets wave da flag...America is the "Not Dumbest" countrey in da wold... We have da bestest edu ...eduma...egdeuma...egdeumacation in da wold. YEah!! Lets here it 4 brains and smarty ness...We have a Prezi dent whose da smart ass man in da wold running the bestest countrey in da world...wooo hoo...

(God, if you are there. Please save us from fools, and fools who follow fools...and fools who follow ...a whole bunch of fools...etc, etc, etc.)


"George, pull my finger..."

One of my favorite paintings, my eyes settled on God and then drifted over to the creation of man. And there was george. Hahahahaha.

job qualifications are. Some countries do have postal codes, but I don't think France does. The US Postal Service has a wonderful website to answe ANY question ANY dumb person could ever think of, including mail to odd places like France. http://www.usps.com

before the name of the city, not after it.

I think 0 means Paris, not sure what the 7 and 5 represent.

to write the PLZ (zipcode) BEFORE THE CITY NAME otherwise whatever they send will go via some Dorf in Alabama. So ist das.

so many levels...

My sister (a former Chicago public school teacher) and myself have had many discussions over the years about the "dumbing down" of America...

I understand.

The lunatics are the ones managing the place.

I worked with someone like her, once. I thought it might be intentional, though. She drove all of her co-workers to look for new jobs and ended up getting the manager's chair through seniority.

I work for the USPS and have actually seen letters addressed to FRANCE, California or FRANCE, USA. Dorks!

I think France does use a 5 digit zip code like ours, as does Israel and a few other places. That would be that little 5 digit number she mentioned as being before Paris, France. I can say though that WE don't do anything with their postal code. That letter would be coded as a foreign piece and then sent to FRA_. I think French postal workers worrry about the details. :-)

I've also seen people use email addresses, phone numbers and even social security numbers in a mailing address. :dunce:

There's nothing to be gained by telling a dodo she's a dodo. Vent to us instead. :evilgrin:

Would you mind if I print this out and tack it up on a bulletin board at work?

Be my guest. Strange but true is always good for a laugh.

yet hilarious!

:rofl:

soul to suffer the slings and arrows of complete (edit) who I can't believe this what the (edit) were they thinking?

and i have no idea how foreign countries figure out where the mail goes..the us postal system is the best in the world..

lets them take care of it.

For example, if you're writing a letter to Japan, you can simply address the whole thing in Japanese EXCEPT for writing "JAPAN" in big letters at the end of the address.

The USPS puts it on a plane to Japan and lets the Japanese postal service figure it out. By the way, Japan has "yuubin bangou," which are the equivalent of zip codes.

How do you know the US postal system is the best in the world? When you mail something to a foreign country, the US postal system passes it to the destination countries' own postal service, and they make sure it gets to the recipient. You don't actually think the US postal service actually delivers in foreign countries, do you??

i know the in`s and out`s of mailing stuff around the world. we send mail directly to foreign addresses and to firms who specialize in foreign mail. the address system in most if not all countrys are way behind the us postal systems zip code and tracking system. don`t always blame the postal service if you don`t get your magazine..sometimes your label is on the floor or the letter disappears into a machine..

Every street has its own. And I have never known a letter posted first class not to reach its destination the next day. Our postal service fucking rocks. It's one of the few things about Britain that I really rate.

never could figure out the postal coding,if i remember its based on letters and numbers? well i`ll admit i was wrong on the isles..ever come across--"how to spend it"? it is being printed in the plant i used to work at-we work alot cheaper than the print workers in england, i figure about 2-3 dollars cheaper..

The US Postal Service is pretty good but can be really sucky. When I was in the UK in 2000, I heard nothing but good things about the postal service there. When we mailed things back to the US, they got here in record time, and when we have mailed items to the UK (mainly eBay stuff), they have always made it to their destinations quickly. You're lucky to have that good of a postal system! :hi:

Contrary to popular belief, not EVERYTHING in the US is top of the line. Service in restaurants, stores, etc., has gotten awful here. I did not have one bad experience in the UK. I am sure there are exceptions, but I really enjoyed being there. :) Hell, even Burger King at Gatwick Airport had cheerful, helpful, efficient employees, and the food was better than it ever is here. (BTW, that was the ONLY fast-food experience I had in the UK---everything else was local!)

geographically. And Royal Mail is a bit more expensive than USPS as well (32 pence for first class stamp, instead of 39 cents) When you consider the idea that, in an average of three days, the USPS moves mail from any address, anywhere in the US to any other address, for only 39 cents, it's pretty remarkable.

I actually prefer ebay sellers in the UK too those in the US for that reason and will go with them first if costs are similar. My occasional Amazon.co.uk orders arrive faster than my Amazon.com orders, and the US distribution center is at most three hours drive from my house in Fernley, Nevada (just east of Reno.)

It takes me ages to get a package from Canada though. Canada Post is slow and expensive.

Nice to see you! :hi:

IIRC there are a few postal services ranked better (I'll try to find the actual results).

Anyway, pretty much all countries use US-style zips.

Recommended because it is so insane it must be preserved for posterity.

If this isn't "Daily Show" or maybe "Mind of Mencia" skit material, I don't know what is.

But the fact that it's true? That is just :scared:

dumber than.

...I cannot believe someone could be that ignorant....but then again, I can. I was with my uncle, who lived in Hawaii, when he visited us in the late 1970s and joked around with a store clerk in a small town in NC that he had "Hawaiian money". She got all upset and told him there was no way she could accept "furrin munney" and called her manager. Uncle Ed and I just looked at each other, and the manager came out and told us the same thing. He showed her his legal tender (US bills) and still said they couldn't take "no furrin munney". :eyes: We left without buying whatever it was he was trying to buy. But your story tops any I've ever heard about pure ignorance! :rofl:

Yikes. I wonder what the people that work for him are like.

Scott Adams- the creator of the Dilbert comic strip. I can almost guarantee you it would get a place in the next DNRC newsletter under "True Tales of Induviduals".

scottadams@aol.com

the funniest thing i have read all month.

:rofl:

I often forget that there's this whole other half of the bell curve.

:rofl:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

:rofl:

Reminds me of a story on Paul Harvey, where a guy from New Mexico tried to buy tickets to the Olympics in Atlanta. He was told they could only sell tickets in America, not New Mexico. Eventually he had to ask for the manager, who informed him, "Old Mexico, new Mexico, it doesn't matter. You have to be in the US to buy tickets!"

:rofl:

Reminds me of a gal I once worked with who didn't think there was a state called West Virgina. It was a zip code issue too.

Is this person going to keep her job?

This story is perfectly appalling. Now, if I can only stop laughing.

:wow:

Tell me you made this up. Tell me it was just a weird dream. :rofl:

I'm SOOOOO embarrassed for all of us right now.

:)

x(



People can be that stupid? How sad. :(

If this person is working!

And she's the manager too!?? I'll bet she didn't last very long, or at least, I hope not. I would complain to a higher up about her incredible stupidity. Wow! That's scary shit!!

Last year, trying to send a Thanksgiving greeting card from Plymouth Mass to Tbilisi, Georgia, in the Former Soviet Union.

The US Post office clerk insisted we put the zip code for the state of Georgia on the envelope.

It took 15 minutes and the intervention of a supervisor to get the clerk to relent.

I can't believe someone could really be that ignorant. :wow: